Richard Osman: ‘Games and quizzes are a sort of organised arguing’
Richard Osman is the quiz master. The 49-year-old started his career behind the scenes, working on TV shows such as Deal Or No Deal and The Million Pound Drop. He moved in front of the camera in 2009 as the co-host of Pointless and since 2017 he has racked up more than 100 episodes as presenter of Richard Osman’s House of Games on BBC Two. House of Games pits four celebrities in a series of eclectic, ever-changing challenges over five weeknights. Many of the games involve wordplay and most are ingeniously silly (one has the contestants answer questions set by the children of the regular question writers: “Does Anthony like bananas?” for example). The quiz has become a book of the same name and here Osman explains why no Christmas is complete without a quiz.
What is the role of games and quizzes around Christmas?
Well, there are many ways to fall out over Christmas. Especially in the world as it is today, there are many things to argue about, so I think games and quizzes are sort of organised arguing. They are arguing that doesn’t end with people throwing leftover Christmas dinner at each other.
Are games and quizzes a particularly British thing? It’s hard to imagine French people doing it in the same way…
Oh, that’s a very good question. My knowledge of French Christmas games, I’m afraid, is lacking. We know that Americans love a quiz and Trivial Pursuit was Canadian, I think. But everyone loves a quiz, everyone loves a silly little game. I couldn’t speak for our European cousins, and I don’t want something else that divides us from continental Europe, but you can imagine the Germans playing games. The Swedes surely play games. And I can’t imagine a Norwegian Christmas goes by without a game of charades.
But why do they particularly appeal to the British?
Well, I think that British people are deeply competitive. Also I think British people have a really keen sense of the absurd. And games are the perfect combination of the two.
Were games and quizzes important when you were growing up?
Oh God, yeah. My entire career really has been games, and that comes from my childhood because I’d love to play games. I’d make my own board games when I was a kid, that’s the kind of crazy kid I was.
Then you’d play Trivial Pursuit and you’d team up with other family members. And there’s always the thing: who’s going to go with who? That’s where you realise the pecking order in the family: “Well, person A is the cleverest…” And then you have to go: “And person B is the thickest.” It’s like the thing of being picked last in PE, but this is actually your family, all of whom are supposed to love you.
No false modesty here – have you always been very good at games?
Yeah, I’m a fairly decent quizzer, but I come from a family of fairly decent quizzers so that doesn’t really help. My thing always with a quiz is you want to play against somebody who is almost as clever as you. Someone who you win against about 52% of the time, so it’s always going to be a good game but, if you play your best, you should win.
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Do you have a favourite festive game?
Oh, I do love a straight Trivial Pursuit. But the hat game – you know, where you write down the name of lots of celebrities and put them in a hat and pull them out and you describe them to your team – that’s a perfect Christmas game because the generations write down different people. So there’s always a lot of laughter around that game.
Do you have a game you can’t stand or you’re just terrible at?
If somebody in my family wants to play Monopoly, I wouldn’t be over the moon about it. Again, as a format guy, it’s just too complicated and goes on for too long. “Oh my goodness, I’ve got to buy a hotel on Mayfair and I’ve got to mortgage it…” you just think: “Ah, come on, let’s watch EastEnders.”
Would you still do a pub quiz for fun?
Yeah, I always enjoy a pub quiz wherever I go. But most pub quizzes are full of very smart people, so it’s not like I can walk in and win them all. I like to do OK, but I’m not as smart without my earpiece in. If there’s like 20 teams, I like to finish third or fourth. I always think that’s quite classy.
Do you have a default pub quiz team name?
I don’t really believe in them. Because there are so many default pub quiz names, it’s a matter of personal professional pride to be able to come up with something bespoke for every occasion.
Who’s been the most competitive celebrity on House of Games?
I love Josh Widdicombe, but he’s the most competitive person who has never won a single day. He really, really wanted to, but he was on the same week as Steve Pemberton and Steve Pemberton is a very, very good quizzer.
The prizes on House of Games have an outline of your face on them. Do you have any of these objects at home?
Do you know what? I don’t. I always wanted us to have prizes you’d get on a 70s game show because I didn’t want money or anything like that, so there’s fondue sets and roller skates. Then the prizes turn up and listen, it’s sort of my face, but it could equally be Sue Perkins’s face or Gok Wan’s. It’s sort of interchangeable. But yeah, it would be weird to have a House of Games dartboard in my house or House of Games wheelie luggage. That would be peculiar I’d say.
You have just written a crime novel, which was bought for a seven-figure sum after a 10-publisher auction. Was it always the plan to write?
Yes, and a couple of years ago, actually, my work life just opened out a little bit and I thought: “I’m going to take this seriously for the first time and properly do it.” So I tucked myself away and I did it in secret. I didn’t want to be someone saying: “Oh, I’m writing a novel.” But I’m incredibly proud of it and people seem to like it. And the nice thing is that publishers in other countries have bought it and they don’t know who I am. So we sold it in America and Germany and France and Italy, and that makes me think: “OK, maybe, maybe it’s good.” It’s called The Thursday Murder Club, it’s not out till September, and I’ve just started writing the second one now. That’s what you stopped me doing by having this conversation, so thank you; it’s really hard work.
Will this reduce the time you spend on our TV screens?
My entire career really has been just doing the things that I love, so I don’t know, is the truth. Genuinely, we’ll see what happens, but I wouldn’t want to choose between the two, because I love them both.
• Richard Osman’s House of Games is published by Ebury (£14.99). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Free UK p&p over £15
